NY Man Accused of Sex Trafficking at Portland Massage Parlor, Threatening Elderly Woman with Gun, Received $20K PPP Loan, Recruited Victims Online - T

[Edward Tomic]

The New York man charged in April with criminal threatening and aggravated sex trafficking for running his “massage parlor” as a prostitution house received more than $20,000 worth of federal grants before threatening an elderly woman with a handgun, according to records reviewed by the Maine Wire.

Changsheng Xiao, 45, who is listed on police records as being from Flushing, N.Y., was arrested in late April at 977 Forest Avenue in Portland — the address of Ping Wellness Center, a massage parlor in Portland’s North Deering neighborhood that advertises reflexology, massage therapy, facials, waxing, and “tui na,” a traditional Chinese massage technique.

[RELATED: New York Man Arrested for Criminal Threatening, Sex Trafficking at Portland Massage Parlor…]

According to public records from the Maine Bureau of Corporations, the business at 977 Forest Ave is registered under the name “Oriental Wellness Center LLC,” and classified as a spa service. Xiao registered the LLC in April 2019.

Portland Police arrest logs indicate that Xiao was charged with both criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and aggravated sex trafficking, and was booked at the Cumberland County Jail on $10,000 bail shortly before 1 a.m. on Saturday, April 27.

Cumberland County Court records reviewed by the Maine Wire show that under the charge of aggravated sex trafficking, Xiao is accused of knowingly promoting prostitution by “compelling a person to enter into, engage in or remain in prostitution.”

As set forth in the Maine Criminal Code, “compelling” may refer to various ways of coercing a person into prostitution through the use of drugs, alcohol, or physical force, requiring prostitution as a means to pay an actual or purported debt, as well as withholding or destroying a person’s immigration documents or other identification to impede freedom of movement.

On the charge of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, court records state that Xiao is accused of using a gun to put a 66-year-old woman “in fear of imminent bodily injury.”

In Xiao’s bail conditions, he agreed to have no direct or indirect contact with two alleged victims, the 66-year-old who he is accused of threatening with a gun, and another 43-year-old alleged victim.

Xiao had an initial hearing at the Cumberland County Courthouse on June 20, at which the court requested the presence of a Mandarin language interpreter from Catholic Charities Maine.

He also has a dispositional conference before the court scheduled for Oct. 16.

According to the multiple online identity services, the cell phone number listed as belonging to Changsheng Xiao also happens to be listed in a job posting for a masseuse on a Chinese language job board.

The listing suggests that Xiao or his associate are using Chinese language job boards to lure Chinese immigrants from New York City to Maine to engage in prostitution.

Federal spending records report that Changsheng Xiao received a loan of $20,705 under the COVID-19 era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in May 2021.

The records related to the federal payment to Xiao describe his industry as “All Other Personal Services” and the loan, which was forgiven, is reported to have protected one job.

A phone number associated with Xiao via online background check services appears to have been used on numerous Chinese language job posting boards to lure Chinese-speaking women from New York to Maine to work at the massage parlor.

According to Google Translate, one Feb. 2024 job posting with Xiao’s phone number on USAhuarenjie.com reads: “A purely formal massage parlor in Maine is hiring people, with a good environment, good accommodation, good tips, and a long-established shop with a monthly income of $7000+. We sincerely hope to hire a female masseuse who is good at work, has a work card, and is not a troublemaker. She is about 50 years old. A little English, pornography, and yellow hands are not allowed! If you are interested, please call: 347*****56. Thank you.”

The term “yellow hands” is an apparent reference to sex work.

A July 2024 job posting at Meiguogongzuo.com, also with Xiao’s phone number listed as the contact, insisted that the job was not pornographic in nature. That posting, according to Google Translate, states: “Maine’s purely formal massage shop is looking for female masseuses. Good environment, good accommodation, good tips. 10-year-old shop with a monthly income of 7,000+. Good workmanship, work card, no trouble. Non-formal (pure formal) female masseuses. A little English. Non-formal and yellow hands, please don’t bother. If you are interested, please call 347*****56. Thank you. When contacting, please say that you saw it on the American job website”.

Xiao is not the only owner of Asian-themed massage parlors to have been arrested on sex trafficking charges this year.

Earlier this week, the Lewiston Police Department announced that they arrested 58-year-old Richard Qiu of Brooklyn, N.Y., in connection to a months-long investigation into alleged sex trafficking and forced labor occurring at a massage parlor in Lewiston.

[RELATED: Owner of Several Maine Massage Parlors Charged with Sex Trafficking, Forced Labor..]

Lewiston Police say they discovered video recording equipment, condoms and over $12,000 cash in suspected sex trafficking proceeds at the site of Qiu’s “Wen Xin Spa,” located just off of Sabattus Street in Lewiston.

Police said that Qiu is associated with several massage parlors through Maine, including “Xinye Spa” in Bath, which was previously served with a cease and desist order by the city’s code enforcement officer in April for operating as an unauthorized “Adult Business Establishment.”